Luvaria Ulisses

After a 1755 earthquake, the Muralha do Carmo wall was built in the heart of downtown Lisbon. At the beginning of the twentieth century, excavations of the wall revealed empty spaces that were sold as stores. After all spaces were allotted, a crevice remained, one in which three would definitely be a crowd.

The savvy Joaquim Rodrigues Simões snapped up the license and used the literal hole in the wall as his personal office, until clamping on to a more profitable idea. He opened the doors to Luvaria Ulisses glove shop in 1925, during an era when a respectable woman would never bare her hands in public. This tiny, iconic store has been gloving all varieties of customers ever since, and at four square meters remains the smallest (and last remaining) glove shop in Portugal.

The gloves are offered ready-made or bespoke. The latter process requires them being crafted in a nearby workshop. An added bonus is the lack of anxiety about potentially getting these luxury items caught in a snag. These gloves are one-of-a-kind, and the able staff will mend any tears, with or without your receipt.

Over a century later, the process remains precisely the same, just under a new owner. Carlos Carvalho—a fifty-year veteran of Luvaria Ulisses— currently runs the shop. He mastered the craft as a young assistant, and in time he inherited the bijou boutique and its accompanying legacy. He leads a team of eight cutters and tailors who craft, heat, hammer, and sew more than fourteen thousand pairs of gloves annually.

There’s no shortage of reasons to visit Luvaria Ulisses, not least of which is the confidence that should you wait your turn to be the lone customer who manages to squeeze into the shop, you’ll leave with an accessory that fits like…well…you know.

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